Rapturous
by Archosy
Summary: Glancing into the mirror in front of her, Narcissa smiled. Twirling around, she looked in awe. Call her conceited if you must, but she knew that she looked beyond lovely. Everyone had their perfect wedding day, and she was going to have hers.


**Author's Note: **This is my very first take on Narcissa's character, so hopefully I did it in a way that is somewhat acceptable.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

**Dedication: **This is dedicated to the lovely CelticKisses, hope you enjoy it hun! )

* * *

Glancing into the mirror in front of her, Narcissa smiled. Twirling around in front of the reflective surface, she looked in awe of herself. Call her conceited if you must (as many had already), but she knew that she looked beyond lovely. To put it simply, the only word she found to describe herself was extravagant. In her mind, she mirrored perfection itself with a little more 'oomph'.

With her strapless gown, jewelry resting on her features, it was obvious that each piece of what she was wearing cost a fortune in galleons, probably more than some people's homes. It was her wedding day, therefore it was a given that she must have the perfect items for the perfect day. Her dress clung to her every womanly curve, showing off her assets. Along them was beads embroidered into the material, spiraling down the side of her dress until it reached the far corner to form a very unique design. She could hear the noisiness from downstairs, where the guests were being ushered to their seats and where Lucius was awaiting Narcissa's entrance.

Though this marriage was arranged since her birth, Narcissa had no objection whatsoever to the marriage. Unlike her sister Andromeda, she did not believe that she would marry for love anyways. If she was going to do it so, she might as well do it for the benefit for her name. Becoming a Malfoy would give her even more power and money than she'd had while being a Black.

Truth be told, she didn't love her husband-to-be. When they first met, she didn't even like him at all. He was arrogant, rude, and narcissistic, there were too many synonyms to describe him. She smirked to herself; he reminded her of herself in almost every aspect. Never before had she had someone stand up to her as he did, as though he were her equal. She felt both admiration and infuriated that he would do such a thing; no one had ever stood up to her like he did.

According to their marriage arrangement contract, they were to spend summers together to get to know one another better during the last few years until their marriage became final. This Narcissa did begrudgingly, for she hated these summers at first, just as Lucius did. For some ludicrous reason, she was the one who was required to leave her home, and stay at his instead. Her She and Lucius argued many times, trying to 'one-up' the other in insults with one another.

Much to his surprise (and a bit of her mother's shame), Narcissa loved playing Quidditch and the outdoors in general. Even though pureblood women were supposed to be up in the house playing dolls and whatnot at her age, she couldn't deny her love for nature. The fresh air was just so exhilarating, it made Narcissa feel more free than ever. At home, she was denied permission to play Quidditch, as her mother said she should be a proper young lady. Thus, making this her first enjoyment about the fact of going to the Malfoy's home.

As she got older, she outgrew constantly wanting to be active outside, but still played a game of Quidditch every now and then. While Lucius and his friends played all the time, she would go and hide under the shade of a tree while she read a good book. Granted that most of the books were just Malfoy books, studying the history of her future family. Though, every now and again a regular novel would really capture her attention.

With her newly discovered habit of attracting men around with her charm, Narcissa discovered a button of Lucius's that only she could push. Any time he found her flirting with one of the guards or his friends (purely for fun, of course), he would have an absolute fit. This delighted her like-omit in a way she couldn't describe. It wasn't as if he cared about her, they'd barely really known each other. Though, it showed that he was possessive, that she was his and only his, and not to be shared with another.

These meetings were still an annoyance to her. It was obvious she did hate going to them, having to stay in a home with only him and his friends as company, with the occasional but rare invite of one of hers for the weekend. She missed her family a bit, but it just was the fact of her being away from home for so long. Though, omit comma she knew she was going to have to get used to it, as she had to live with him in the Manor after the marriage. While she hated these summers, she enjoyed them at the same time. Whenever they weren't arguing, they were having civil conversations with each other.

He had become a friend over this time, she admitted. Yes, a friend; whenever they weren't arguing, of course. But if he would become more than that, Narcissa would not know. She did not know if she could grow to love the man that she was to marry. Maybe she would learn to in the future, and they would have a good life. Everyone knew that he'd always be able to provide for her and whatever family they had.

Narcissa had never really wanted to have children of her own. Though, being a Malfoy, she knew that within the first year of marriage that a pureblood son and heir must be born. Again, even though she did not love the idea of children, it would benefit her to have such a large fortune to pass down to herself and her future child. Of course, an heir was a necessity of being a Malfoy, but that didn't mean Narcissa had to have any more.

Some things would stay the same as it did when she was a Black, some would change drastically. Having house elves dote on her would be just as usual as ever for her, though she would now have to uphold not only the past reference of her name of Black, but of Malfoy as well. She had to be twice as prepared for public appearances and host balls for her fellow aristocratic purebloods. Her appearance and attitude in front of them impacted greatly if she was to be seen as a fit Malfoy.

If she was to be accepted as a Malfoy, she needed to act properly. Otherwise, she knew she would instantaneously become an outcast among them. At least she'd had somewhat of an idea of how she was supposed to act. With her mother and father's balls, she got a first hand experience from her mother of how to act. Although, omit comma she knew that just witnessing was not enough. Lucius's mother herself had been giving Narcissa lessons in acting properly as a Malfoy. What she knew already was an asset to her lessons, so she hadn't needed to be taught as much as they first suspected. Narcissa grimaced at the thought of her first lesson with Lucius's mother.

_"Sit up straight, child! Hold your chin up! No, not like that. Look straight at me, this way." Arcucia Malfoy scolded her, glaring at Narcissa._

She paced back and forth, throwing her hands in the air at times, babbling about how she wasn't going to have Narcissa ready in time for the wedding. Narcissa resisted the urge to sneer at her future mother-in-law, and attempted the proper posture once more. She was almost positive that she had been doing fine; maybe it was just the way Lucius's mother was.

Any time she seemed to do something correctly (yes, she had done things correctly,) she got a nod of approval from Arcucia. Though, omit comma it seemed that after every single time she received one of these rare nods, they were immediately followed by more criticism. "Mercy, I'm going to have to bind you to the chair until you get it right."

Narcissa groaned, "What was that, young lady?" The lowercase t old woman snapped. The woman's features were as sharp as ever, along with her perfect posture and poise, even with her old age. Still in this day and age, she held the perfect carriage of a pureblood. Narcissa admired her for this, even though she couldn't stand the bat.

"Nothing, nothing." Narcissa sighed, straightening her as straight as it what's it? could go.   
Her meetings with Arcucia did not get any easier, or more comfortable. Every time was the same, with Arcucia criticizing her posture or walking, and her having to hold back her retorts. She knew that she could not displease her future husband's mother at all. If she did, her marriage would surely be called off before she could say 'Malfoy'. Her slight dislike of his mother was definitely not going to prevent her from becoming a rich and powerful socialite amongst her wizarding peers.

Sitting down by her vanity, Narcissa had her assistant recheck her makeup and hair. As expected, it still looked as perfect as it had when she had first had it done. The charms were placed on it to make sure that nothing would go wrong while waiting or during the ceremony. She smirked to herself, looking smug. He wasn't going to know what hit him when he saw her.

"Cissy, it's time. Come along now." came her sister, Bellatrix's voice. Narcissa glimpsed at herself once more before walking outside to where doors were closed. Almost immediately at her presence, the doors opened to reveal the grand staircase that led to her guests and Lucius, the future that awaited her. She smiled at her sister once more, thinking of what Lucius's reaction would be when she walked down the stairs.

Slowly, she began to descend down the stairs and into her future. 


End file.
